Mashed Potatoes and Family Reunions
by Lovebites and Popcorn
Summary: Axel got more than he bargained for when he was told to stay over at his best friend Sora’s house for the weekend. Just how the hell was he supposed to know that the kid was having a huge family reunion dinner on Saturday night? AKUROKU.
1. Parte I

**Mashed Potatoes and Family Reunions**

_Axel got more than he bargained for when he was told to stay over at his best friend Sora's house for the weekend. Just how the hell was he supposed to know that the kid was having a huge family reunion dinner on Saturday night? __**Akuroku.**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I own nothing but the plot. Also, I have nothing against James Blunt's You're Beautiful._

* * *

My parents were gonna be away for the weekend. They gave me explicit permission to stay over at my best friend's place from Friday through to Sunday. And so they dropped me off at Sora's place, along with a whole damn box of sea-salt ice cream as an endowment fee to the Leonhart family for taking me in for the weekend.

The Leonharts were a nice bunch.

Sora, my awesome pal that I befriended since the beginning of time (which would be somewhere in the middle of grade two), had always been there for me. He could be one crazy kid, but dude, he was _awesome_. And he owned a Playstation 3. That in itself was one of the many reasons why I came to be goooood friends with him. Sora also had a brother named Leon. Leon was five years his senior. Leon liked fur and leather. Leon was kind of a pretty boy. 'Nuff said.

Anyways, yeah, back to the sleepover. It was to my utmost displeasure to find out on Friday night from my effervescent little friend that there was going to be somewhat of a family reunion dinner the following evening that the Leonhart family traditionally hosted on a bi-annual basis.

Thanks for such a short notice, Sora you jerk. If I'd have known, I wouldn't have decided to bunk in with you and your folks for the weekend. Not that I have anything against your immediate family. I reckon Leon's pretty cool (when he isn't ignoring me) and Mr and Mrs Leonhart were the best parents ever. But… I really didn't think I'd be signing up for dinner with a bunch of weird-ass strangers.

If you didn't already know, I, Axel Onér, hotshot of the twenty-first century, totally hated/despised/loathed/etc family reunions. Especially since I wasn't exactly considered 'family' in the first place and knew no one but the hosts of said reunion.

And then, being the huge idiot like I usually was, I had to open my big mouth and tell Mr and Mrs Leonhart that I was going to help cook the dinner for them.

Way to go Axel, you fucking douche.

But hey, I felt bad for staying over at their place and not offer some of my help and expertise. I proposed that I'd make my famous speciality: honey roasted chocobo. Yeah, I can totally cook a mean roast. A mean _chocobo _roast. Or maybe I just liked the roasting part of it. Either way, I knew Laguna and Raine were gonna be hella busy all night so I was right in guessing that they were grateful for me offering to take some of the load off their hands.

So anyway, Saturday came, and guests started arriving in bunches at a time. And it was only like, four in the afternoon. I found myself mingling with over twenty strangers, all somehow related to Sora. Mind you, twenty was just a rough figure here. There were people still streaming through the front door.

"It's only gonna be a small reunion!" Sora had assured me the night before, voice like a child high on crack.

Small reunion my ass.

Yeah, so about that mean chocobo roast? I didn't think it'd be enough to feed fifty at a reunion dinner – yeah, that number seemed about right – no matter how fat the chocobo.

"I think I'll make lots of mashed potatoes too," I decided.

Yeah. I made one hell of a good mash.

Sora just laughed when I said so.

He _laughed_.

I think he was giddy with happiness that night. Almost drunk. He started introducing me to everyone he could lay his eyes on. He liked people, that kid. I could _so_ tell.

He pulled me over to a group of ladies first.

"These are my aunts!" he chirruped gaily. I think I wanted to punch him.

I shook hands with a Yuna, a Rikku and a Paine. And then he dragged me over to his uncles. And then his cousins. Followed closely by some of his young nephews and nieces. Wow. He had one massively huge extended family. I forgot more than half their names as soon as they'd introduced themselves to me.

There were just too many goddamn people! Now don't get me wrong. I loved crowds. But these were Sora's relatives! They all knew each other and I knew none of them. I felt like the odd black sheep out.

Well, some were familiar on sight – but that could've been because I've probably just briefly glimpsed them at some point whenever I came 'round to hang out at Sora's.

Ah well.

Half and hour into the shindig and I was getting a slight headache from all the noise and merrymaking. I was mildly amazed that the house was able to accommodate the whole throng of people. But then again, the place was _packed_. I stuck with Sora the whole way through in case I somehow managed to lose him in the swarm.

And then this silver-haired kid (he had that kind of strong-and-sexy-and-I-_know_-it aura about him, to tell you the truth) came strutting (_strutting_?) up to Sora to say hi. And Sora visibly paled. And I knew something was up. Hey, if I didn't know better, I believed he'd been trying to avoid mister sexy strutface so far.

"Hey, Sor! It's been awhile."

"H-Hey…! Umm…" Sora's eyes darted around, looking anywhere but at the dude (who was probably, _obviously_, a relative). Then he grinned a huge-ass grin that was so fake it was almost painful to look at. His voice cracked almost manically when he opened his mouth again. "How you _beeeeen_, man?"

If Strutty Silver Hair was amused, he didn't show it. "Not too bad. You?"

"Eh… Yeah, uh, pretty okay! Umm…" he looked around hastily, spotted me, and grabbed me by the arm, "ThisisAxel!" he blurted.

I have never seen Sora so flustered in the entire time that I've known him. "He's stayingthenight. Withmeinmyroom." And then Sora realised what he'd just said and looked kinda mortified.

The silver-haired kid blinked and gave Sora a strange look. Maybe he took what Sora said the wrong way or something. I know _I _would've. Stupid Sora.

"Hi. You Sora's friend or something?" he said to me.

I nodded just as Sora shook his head vigorously. I raised an eyebrow at Sora and his headshake became a mechanical nod. His face looked almost robotic. I rolled my eyes. What was with him?

Then, Strutty introduced himself (since Sora totally somehow _forgot_ to).

"I'm Riku, Sora's cousin. Well, second cousin. But whatever. We're still related." He extended his hand to me. "Any friend of Sora's is a friend of mine."

And I couldn't help but gape in Sora's direction as I took his second cousin's hand and shook it meekly.

* * *

Fifty five seconds later, I pulled Sora aside.

"_That _was Riku?" I almost hissed.

Sora just nodded. Words seemed to have deserted him.

"Like, _the _Riku? Riku, as in the guy you've been talking about all year that you've harboured the hugest crush on since… _forever_?" I was incredulous. "_That _Riku?"

Sora nodded again, turning crimson.

"And just _when_ exactly were you going to let me in on the fact that he's… I dunno… _your second cousin_?"

"Thought you wouldn't want to know… the… details."

"It's aaall about the details, man. But yeah… no, you're totally right about that. I _so_ didn't want to know."

"He _is_ real pretty to look at…"

The way his voice sounded so wistful made me want to shudder.

"He's related to you! He's _your second cousin_!"

"My _very, very hot_ second cousin," he corrected pointedly, a finger in the air as though clarifying it with me.

Okaaaaay. I stared at him for a full five seconds before shaking my head. "Dude. That is just wrong on _so_ many different levels that I don't even _want_ to list them."

* * *

Twenty minutes more of mingling later, some time after five, Sora grabbed me and pulled me into the kitchen.

"Yeah, you offered to cook dinner, remember? I'll help you. But we need food on the table by seven. Cool?"

I nodded, glad to be away from the crowd at last. Breathing a sigh, I got to work on my chocobo and mashed potatoes.

I liked Sora's kitchen. It was like, artistically designed or something. It looked ultra-modern. Very high-tech. Very state-of-the-art. Very cool. Well, actually, the Leonhart's _entire_ _abode_ was high-tech, state-of-the-art and cool. Duh, they were pretty well-off in the financial department.

No, I didn't befriend Sora just because he was rich.

Really!

So, we got to work in the vast kitchen. There was a divider/partition thingy that kinda split the kitchen in half. I got to working with the ovens and the sinks and the stoves behind the divider, whilst Sora worked on the other side, pouring drinks (bubbly champagne for the adults, iced cordial for the kids) and preparing finger food (caviar on crackers, sushi platters, prawn cocktails, crispy breadsticks, salami slices, cheese and dips, etc, etc).

We worked in silence. Okay, not exactly. We were occasionally speaking with each other through the big, square hole in the partition, or just calling out to each other in conversation. We had to raise our voices though. The chattering outside the kitchen was getting worse by the minute. Man, talk about noise pollution.

Ten minutes of preparing my awesome chocobo (stuffing it with stuffing, glazing it with honey and garnishing it with spices), I stuck the masterpiece in the pre-heated oven (which I probably set on a temperature that was _a bit_ too high). Then finally got to work on the mashed potatoes.

"Sora?" I called, a few moments later.

"Yeah?"

"Just how many relatives do you actually have?"

There was silence for a few moments.

"Uh… I dunno. A lot?"

"No shit."

Thirty-five minutes passed. The chocobo should be ready aaaany time now.

The mash was more or less done. Buttered and salted to flawless perfection.

I went out to visit the loo to relieve myself. I was _bursting_. Even the downstairs bathroom of the Leonhart house had like, mini overhanging chandeliers for lights and a damn musical fountain for a sink. It was kinda extraordinary.

On the way back to the kitchen, I ran into some girly girl who was looking for Sora. She was dressed in all pink and had red hair that almost coulda given me a run for my money.

"Oh hello!" she said to me brightly with a beaming smile. "Are you a new addition to the family?" Her blue eyes twinkled like the fourth of july.

"Uh. No." Now, before you say anything, I really _really_ couldn't think of a better come back.

She laughed. Giggled, actually. "Okay then. I'm Kairi!" she all but sang. "You must be Sora's friend! Or so I've heard. Axel, right?"

I nodded. Now who the heck told this crazy teenage schoolgirl my name?

"I'm actually looking for him," she twittered, looking almost over-enthusiastically eager to see this 'him'.

"Huh," I blinked, "Well, he's busy making dinner at the moment. But I think he'll be almost done."

Somewhere at the back of my mind, I was thinking '_whatthefuck. Sora has a like, some other relative who's in love with __**him **__this time. Wow. This family's so screwed up. Goddamn incestuous love triangles of doom!' _Or something along those lines.

"Oh. Hmm, well, if you don't mind, tell him I'm looking for him. I'll be with Riku. Once he's done with preparing dinner, tell him to look for us!"

And she bounded off in a random direction.

Oh. Yeah. Strutty probably told her that I, that stupid redheaded Axel guy, was probably sleeping with Sora or something. I scratched my head, kinda confounded for a few moments. Then shook it uncaringly and returned back to the kitchen. I didn't want to involve myself in the love politics of people I didn't even know.

Upon stepping into the kitchen, the first thing I noticed was Sora. He was just lounging in a chair, sipping a coke and listening to his overloud iPod (I could hear it from where I stood by the doorway). Just where did he pull that out of? I didn't even know he _had_ one of them.

Then I smelt something.

_OH CRAP._

I cursed wildly and ran behind the divider just as Sora glanced at me, an eyebrow raised.

I dashed to the oven. My dumbass yellow chocobo was starting to char. It looked _black_ for crying out loud!

I put on the mittens, yanked the oven door open and took the tray out. Yeah, the thing looked burnt alright. It was even _smoking_. Oh crap. Great, Axel… You're one amaaaaaazing fuck up. Sora and the Leonharts were going to kill me. I hastily tried to scrape off the burnt bits into the sink, seeing if there was a possibility of salvaging _anything_ from the carcass.

In the midst of my efforts, somebody must've entered the kitchen because a few seconds later, I heard Sora exclaim from somewhere behind me just around the divider in such a high voice I thought he might've been a soprano on crack.

"HEY! Oh _gosh_! Roxas! You _made_ it! Man, I've so _tooootally_ _missed you_!"

Soprano on crack indeed.

I think Sora hugged the newcomer. Probably crushed this Roxas guy in a huge bear hug, by the sound of it.

"Hey, Sor. Great to see you again. Sorry we got here a little late."

Roxas sounded like a teenager. Another cousin or something, I guessed. But that wasn't really what I was thinking at the moment. What I _was _thinking was that Roxas had a very, very sexy voice.

"Nah, don't worry about it!" Sora was saying energetically. "You got here just in time for the dinner. How was the trip up here? Good? Not too taxing?" Sora was positively bouncing on his feet. Not that I could actually see him. But I could _imagine_.

"Trip was alright. My brother handled most of the drive. I took over for a bit towards the end, but we made it in one piece. Er, my parents send their apologies for not being here. You know them."

"That's okay. Yeah, you and your bro and sis _are_ staying the night though, right? You three must be exhausted from the journey. How long was it? A five-hour trip?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we're staying."

"Cloud doing okay?"

"Kinda. At the moment, I'm feeling real sorry for him. He got fired from his job at Seventh Heaven last week."

"Ouch."

"Yeah… I think it was cuz he got accused of staring at his co-worker's… assets. They kicked him out. He left the bar screaming that he wasn't even into women."

"Woah. Man. That's gotta suck… And, uh, your sis?"

"Naminé's the same as ever. She just hooked up with my best friend recently. Not that I really approve… He's such a moron."

"What? Hayner?"

"Uh-huh."

"Hayner's cool!"

"Right. Don't let him hear you say that. It'll make his already-overlarge head explode… Anyways, you should go say hi to Nam and Cloud. They've missed you."

"Yeah, I will. Just gotta' set up the reunion dinner banquet first."

I slammed the oven shut and peered around the hole in the divider, clearing my throat to get their attention. Screw the fat chicken thing. I didn't like being left out of conversations. Really.

Sora jumped when he heard me.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, and dragged the newcomer towards me. "Rox, this is my best friend Axel Onér. He's staying the night. Ax, meet my cousin, Roxas Strife." And Sora beamed like a star.

Roxas Strife. . I think my brain stopped working when I finally got a good look at him.

White untucked t-shirt (with the first two buttons undone), stylish black pants, dirty blond hair, crystal blue eyes, one hell of a cool, deadpan, don't-fuck-with-me face. NJjwbdsj8349keyfrigginblade**FTW**dfhw8!!11!1oneoneeleven21!

Roxas Strife looked fucking gorgeous.

"Hey," I managed to choke out. And I extended a hand through the partition in greeting.

The kid stared at me for like, more than a full second, then scowled down at my hand like it seriously offended him somehow.

Okay. I was beginning to suspect that the boy didn't like it that I interrupted his little chat with his cousin. That wasn't to say that he didn't accept it. He took my hand and shook it briefly in what I thought was the most pathetically feeble handshake I'd _ever_ received. And then he let go in the span of half a second.

Maybe he _really_ didn't like interruptions. But I didn't care.

His hand was so _soft_.

The kid glanced at Sora, grounded out something like "I'm gonna go catch up with the others", ignored me totally, and then he turned to leave the kitchen.

I blinked. Wow. That was attitude right there.

"By the way," the hot blond threw over his shoulder as he paused by the doorway, looking directly into my eyes with a great deal of solemnity. "I think something's burning."

Sora blinked and then turned to me. "Sorry about him. He gets like that sometimes." He sounded almost embarrassed. "He doesn't really like strangers. But he's an awesome guy. Really!"

I watched as Roxas finally disappeared around the corner and into the crowd beyond the kitchen.

I think I really didn't mind that he was an angry kid who hated strangers.

He _did_ have a cute butt.

"So, anyway Ax… What're we having for dinner? Seeing as you seem to have practically killed the chocobo. Again." The kid peered through the hole in the divider and spotted the black carcass next to the sink. "Yeah. Totally."

Brought back to earth, I think I just gave him a short bark of nervous laughter.

Well, Mrs Leonhart, how would you like your roast? Medium well? Well done? Over done? Completely charred black to perfection?

Damn, I was so screwed.

* * *

We ended up having to call the local pizza place and ordered ten large pizzas for all the guests, seeing as how my speciality roast chocobo seemed to have gone through all seven levels of hell. Well. Needless to say, I was embarrassed as hell and Leon totally wasn't happy (he was looking forward to roast chocobo – he liked his chocobo, I learnt) but Laguna and Raine were forgiving. Hey, we still had the mashed potatoes!

I made the best mashed potatoes on the planet!

Well, okay, maybe not.

But hey, who could resist the compelling scrumptiousness of goddamn mashed potatoes?

Most of the adults and older kids sat inside. Us teenagers… well, those of us who didn't _want_ to engage in serious chitchat with the parents took our food and congregated outside in the back yard veranda. Here, there was a nice, big, rectangular table where we all sat around and looked out towards the garden.

Bright spotlights from the veranda roof lit the shadowy grass before us. The inky night sky above was littered with glimmering stars.

Out here, it was just me with most of Sora's cousins and adolescent relatives. I felt kinda out of place but not unwelcome. The kids were of varying ages. Strutty was there, and that redhead girl too. And yes, so was Sora's hot blond cousin. And his sister Naminé. Like her brother, she didn't look short of anything in terms of good-looks. Then there was some kid called Demyx. He was a weird dude. Brought out his guitar and started strumming and belting out the lyrics to You're Beautiful by James Blunt whilst we ate. God, that song annoyed me.

When nearly everyone out here was done with the food, we all ended up playing rounds of poker and blackjack with Uncle Luxord. Apparently, the man was kind of a compulsive gambler. Sora's bro Leon, Roxas' bro Cloud (who looked like an older, less-hot version of Roxas), some wacky chick named Yuffie, and some dude named Reno (whom I, Axel Onér, one of the most unique individuals on the planet, swear could somehow be related to me in some way), all came out to join in.

I was wedged in a seat between Sora and Demyx. And I sat right across from Roxas. Woohoo! Lucky me.

But blondie kept glaring at me all night. Actually, nearly everyone was. Might have to do with the fact that I was constantly winning. Even Uncle Luxord claimed I was cheating. Naw, I wasn't. I was just unbeatable, that's all. There's a difference.

As the night dwindled on, we could hear some of the adults inside starting to get tipsy from drinking too much bubbly. We adjourned our gambling streak and decided to start singing (_screaming_) songs into the night air like we were sitting around a bloody campfire.

"Weeeeeeeee are the champions, mah _friendssss_," Sora was screeching, rocking back and forth, arms around Kairi and Riku. I think he was high on red cordial. Honestly.

"Weeeeeee'll keep on fiiiighting till the enddddd, duh duh duh DUUUUHMMMM," Demyx chimed in loudly.

"Weeee are the CHAMPIONS. WE ARE THE CHAMPIONSSSSSSS. NUUUU TIME FER LOOOOSERRRS, CUZ WEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS," we all chorused.

"OF THE WORLD!"

"WHOO!" Sora shrieked randomly. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEE!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SORAAA," Yuffie continued, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO-"

"HIIIIIIIIIM!" Reno and Kairi finished in unison.

In the midst of all this, I spotted Roxas somewhere off side, sitting in the company of Naminé. They were in deep conversation about something. No idea what. But they looked pretty nonchalant about the fact that their bunch of kith and kin had just turned into a massive choir. Then, as though realising they were being watched, the two suddenly looked up towards me. Roxas promptly narrowed his eyes. Naminé blinked and gave me a strange look. I shrugged apologetically. Cloud and Leon started a duet.

Huh? What? I tore my eyes away from the sibling duo (I had a weird momentary impression that they could maybe be twins) to look over at the eldest Strife and the Leonhart. Oh yeah, definitely a duet. I think they were doing the Pokemon theme song. What the fuck? And I always believed Leon to be an unenthusiastic, cool, aloof, fun-hating guy. Guess I was wrong.

The song (if you could call it that) went on and on and on and finally concluded with:

"GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL, POKEH-MOOOON!"

"ENCORE, _ENCORE_!" Sora cheered, then not missing a beat, he launched into his own song.

"_I'VE GOT A LO-VE-LY BUNCH OF __**COCONUUUUUTS**__! HERE THEY ARE STANDING IN A ROOOW!"_

No alcohol for us. But we were all shit-face insane by the time twelve midnight came around.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Go spell Axel's last name backwards. I __implore__ you, dear child. Go!_

_And then leave a __review__. Because reviewers are lovely __cookie-deserving__ people and reviews are awesome. Long, __constructive__ reviews are __even better__. They make me crazy-happy like Sora on crack. _


	2. Parte II

**Mashed Potatoes and Family Reunions**

**Parte II**

_**Author's Note: **__Hello all. Here's the final part of MP&FR! :) Many thanks to the reviewers who reviewed the previous part, namely: __**13loves8loves9loves6, kelle611, 321, Guzophela, Anya Urameshi, Me, Moliski, kawaiifox1, SkyeFlyte, Ally Montgomery and lovetheHams. **__You guys are fantastic people!_

* * *

Our rowdy karaoke session out on the veranda never lasted very long, to tell you the truth. Various disgruntled (read _pissed_) neighbours down the street had threatened to call the cops, for '_totally disrupting the peace and quiet of Sundown Avenue_'. That pretty much shut all of us up. It was then that everyone started to realise just how late it was getting and decided to go back inside to wrap up the jamboree with a toast, commemorating the entire extended family.

Alrighty then. A toast, eh? This should be… worthy of my interest.

Basically, it was a long, loud, lengthy, drawn-out process whereby _everyone_ (all forty-fifty-sixty-something of us) stood in a wide circle in the dining hall around the large dining table, holding glasses of champagne/softdrink/cordial/whatever, and wished _everyone else_ good fortune and longevity and happiness and all that muck.

Found it all kinda pointless, really. But also very amusing. Now, I was acutely aware of the fact that Roxas Strife (a.k.a. The Most Gorgeous Thing I've Ever Laid Eyes On) was standing _right beside me_ in the circle. Now that I was so very close to him, I found myself checking him out and giving him the once over. Y'know, the whole 'look said gorgeous babe up and down' routine. I wondered to myself: how the hell could someone look so fucking hot and so fucking _pretty_ all at once?

And then I wondered whether he would attack me if I were to reach out and touch his hair.

He had such pretty, pretty blond hair. He also had pretty blue eyes, sharp and gleaming like flawlessly cut sapphires. And he had the kind of pale ashen complexion that reminded me vaguely of those porcelain dolls with those huge, staring eyes. A silver chain hung loosely around his neck and glistened under the soft lighting of the chandeliers above.

The kid wasn't tall. In fact, he was more than a head shorter than me. But I really didn't care about his height. He was perfect just the way he was.

I think my gaze lingered on him for quite awhile before I realised something.

"Hey. Your glass is empty," I told him.

He almost jumped (almost) and looked round at me, surprise flitting across his face for a split second.

Then, as though realising it was the stupid redhead again (a.k.a. me), his expression darkened considerably.

"And?" he demanded, a scowl suddenly flickering to life.

Oh damn, his annoyed/irritated/I-don't-like-you-very-much-so-stop-talking-to-me expression was the sexiest expression I've ever seen on anyone.

"Aren't you gonna drink to your family?"

He gave me a nonchalant shrug that probably indicated _no_ in his language.

I shrugged back, grabbed his hand (the one holding his empty glass) to steady it, and tilted half my full glass of lemonade into his own (accidentally sloshing some of it onto the food-littered floor).

"There!" I said triumphantly, "Now you aren't so left out of it!"

He kind of just stared at me like I was some fucked up mental case. But before he could say or do anything, the toasting began. Man! And he was just about to open his mouth! I was kinda wishing the kid would say something more to me (even if it was something like 'I'd appreciate it if you just fuck off, weirdo'). _Really_, he's only said like, _ten friggin' words _to me all night! He had no problems having lengthy conversations with Sora or his sister or even that funny Demyx kid! Did he really hate strangers that much?

Bummer.

Anyway, this commemoration thingy of random family members was quite an odd affair. But apparently it was a significant tradition that happened at every reunion. Curious. Very curious.

"To Riku Mesna!" someone was saying as he (at least I _thought_ he was a he) raised his glass. "For finally graduating from high school and getting into university! May you have many good years ahead in your future!"

"Hear, hear! Let us all drink to Demyx! May he finally achieve his dream of getting a record deal and becoming a celebrity rock star!"

"And to the redhead siblings, Kairi and Reno! Congrats on getting into the modelling industry, both of you! Hopefully you two won't get into the increasingly popular trend of _contracting_ anorexia or bulimia or whatever!"

"And to Naminé! She's got a new boyfriend! And Cloud too! Here's to hoping he'll find a new job soon!"

"And don't forget long-time bachelor, Luxord! May he find his one true love one fine day!"

A whole load of other random fluffy stuff was said, most of which didn't make the slightest sense. Half the adults were pretty much drunk off their faces. All I did was nod and drink along with them. I found it all quite comical and entertaining. But I wasn't concentrating so much on the whole affair. I was busy looking at Roxas. And I think the kid was trying his best to ignore me. But then every so often he would glance sideways and catch my gaze.

Hmm…

"And let us all toast to our guests, who are in no way related to us!" Sora added, raising his twelfth glass of cordial for the night. "To him!" He pointed at me (I believe he may have forgotten my name, but that's understandable). "And _him_!" The kid pointed at some other guy, whom I learnt wasn't related to the rest either. Apparently Aunt Yuna was engaged to him. They were due to marry next month. Some golden-haired Tidus dude who was invited to the reunion too.

And Naminé had the final say, raising her goblet of fizzy Mountain Dew and clearing her throat quietly, looking towards her brother (the one standing right beside me). She looked all bright and breezy and glowy.

"To Roxas," she murmured in soft voice that was surprisingly loud enough for everyone to hear. "Just because."

And that was all she said.

"TO ROXAS STRIFE!" Sora yelled.

And everyone just followed suit, raising their glasses one final time and cheering thunderously.

I glanced at the blond beside me, curious to know what his reaction would be like in response to this.

Well, whaddya know?

I do believe he was smiling a little. Grudgingly, yes. But still smiling. And he looked beautiful.

* * *

The good-byes were tearful. Well, for Sora at least. He was kind of (obviously) saddened by the fact that he would not be able to see all of them again until the next gathering (which I heard was not going to take place until _Halloween_, two months from now). I guess that kinda meant he couldn't see his beloved silver-haired second cousin till then.

The poor bastard.

Anyhoo, unlike my brunet pal, I wasn't upset or anything. I was just glad the party was over.

As soon as everyone had packed up and dispersed and trickled out the front door in droves of threes and fours and disappeared into the darkness of the night, it was almost 1:30 A.M.

When everyone was gone, the Leonhart's declared that they would clean the place up in the morning. Raine and Laguna chased me and Sora to bed, saying that we'd be helping to 'clean the huge fucking mess up too, so we best get our asses to sleep'. No, they didn't really say it like that. But they sure _meant_ it.

By 2:00 A.M., me and Sora were in his room, in bed (_separate_ beds, mind you), and ready to sleep. I don't think I've mentioned this before. Sora Leonhart had a nice room. It was huge (like every other aspect of his house). It was a little creepy that he had posters of Jesse McCartney plastered everywhere, as well as an insanely large collection of pop music CDs in one corner.

Well, as soon as the lights went out, we tried to drift off to sleep. Correction: _I_ tried to drift off to sleep. As soon as Sora collapsed on his bed, he was snoring away as though he's never had shuteye in days. He was out like a friggin' light.

I had no such luck.

It was 3:18 A.M…

I really, honestly couldn't sleep, so I made my way down to the kitchen to find something to eat. I had to tiptoe out of Sora's room, down the dark, shadowy corridor, past Leon's room and down the stairs. The whole house was asleep, apparently. Wonderful.

Upon entering the dark kitchen and flipping the light switch, I proceeded towards the fridge, yanking the door open. Three guesses as to what I found in there. _Leftover mashed potatoes!_ Woohoo! _Not_. But hey, at least it was something to chow on. I scooped a bowl-full of the gunk, popped it in the microwave for a minute or two, then sat down to eat it.

They weren't actually all that great, to tell you the truth. The mash, I mean. I don't think I received any flashy compliments from anyone for my chef-ly efforts during the party anyway.

Moments later, I felt someone staring at me from behind (always knew I had some kind of sixth sense or something) so I whipped around and (lo and behold!) found none other than _Roxas_ by the doorway in a pair of shorts and a loose shirt. What a pleasant surprise.

His hair was a mess and he looked like he just fell out of bed and had a tussle with some unknown enemy in the dark for a bit. He looked all rumpled and bedraggled. And oh so enticingly attractive.

"Hey, gorgeous," I greeted, having to bite back some corny pickup line. "You're up early."

He just shrugged noncommittally and made for the fridge. "Could say the same for you," he mumbled in reply. Oh _dear god_, his voice was all low and subdued and laden with that typical I-just-woke-up huskiness. I think my heart skipped a beat.

"Uh, can't sleep?"

Again, another shrug. This kid really liked to shrug. Not that I really minded. Hey, with perfectly sexy shoulders like his, who wouldn't shrug them as much as humanly possible?

He grabbed himself a bottle of _beer_ and shut the fridge quietly. I stared at him. Beer at three in the morning? He kind of stared back. As though daring me to say something. But I didn't say anything at all. So he made to leave the kitchen.

"G'night!" I called out to him, hoping he'd say something so I could at least hear his sexy voice again.

No such luck. He didn't bother with a reply and I was left to stare after his nice ass.

I sighed. The kid had a real attitude issue. And as much as it could very well turn me on, it was becoming a pain.

I picked at the remains of my heated mashed potatoes, all the while thinking about the blond.

Deciding that I couldn't finish them, I threw the rest of the 'tatoes in the bin. I didn't feel remotely tired, which was weird, considering the fact that I'd had the longest and most tiring day.

So… I decided to head out back to the veranda to look up at the stars and kick back with a cigarette. Maybe that was what I needed to wind down. I never told Sora that I smoked. But I have an inkling that he knows that I do (kudos to him if he really _does_ – he was never the brightest kid on the block). I don't believe that Mr and Mrs Leonhart would mind so much (fingers crossed), after all, Laguna smokes too.

Anyways, I made my way slowly to the dark, shadowy porch, dropped into one of the chairs at the table (the one we all played poker on), and lit a cigarette with the zippo I usually carried around with me. Reclining in the chair, I soaked the cool night air and the tranquil darkness. It was so quiet and peaceful…

Which was probably why I nearly dropped my little stick of tobacco when a clear voice came from out of the murky shadows.

"You got another one of those?"

_Holy fuck!_ I swore my heart nearly _exploded_. It was hammering in my chest at a bazillion kilomiles per millisecond. I frenetically looked towards the source of the voice. And finally, my eyes landed on the kid. He was leaning against one of the white-wall pillars and looking at me through the gloom, one hand clutching his already half-empty beer bottle. He'd probably been standing there all along, watching me. Or maybe he was watching the stars. Until I came along anyways.

Play it cool, Axel. Play it cool.

"_Jesus_, Roxas! You scared the freakin' _hell_ out of me!"

Even in the dark, I could see that he just rolled his eyes at me. "I _said_, you got another one of _those_?" he looked pointedly towards my hand.

I raised an eyebrow. "Got another…? You fuckin' kidding me? Ain't you kinda' _young_ to be smokin'?"

"And you aren't?"

"I'm nineteen," I scoffed. "You obviously ain't even eighteen."

"No. But I break the rules."

Okay. Gotta hand it to him. He knew how to play. I couldn't help but grin. I was starting to really really _really_ like this kid. I handed him one. Even lit it for him. Aren't I the kindest soul? He sculled the rest of his beer like a pro, discarded the bottle (by tossing it into a nearby bush in the yard), and came forward to take the cigarette from my fingers. He sat himself down two seats away from me at the table.

"So, what's up with you, anyway, Rox? You always like this to everyone or is it just me?" I asked casually.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Yeah. Actually, I would. Something wrong?"

There was a slight pause. Then, he snorted. "Just you."

"Touché."

And we kinda just sat there in silence for a long, long while, staring out into darkness of the garden and occasionally looking up into the star-studded jet-black sky. Our cigarettes dwindled, and so did the tension between us, I suppose, because after awhile, he started to talk to me. Maybe it was the beer. Guess it kinda lightened him up a little.

"So… Axel, right?" the kid muttered, flicking ash to the side. "How come you know Sora when he's like, two years younger than you?"

I threw the remains of my own cigarette into the garden. "Dunno," I muttered back, refusing to admit that I was held back two grades. He really didn't need to know that. "But we _are_ best friends. Guess that's really all that matters."

Roxas looked hard at me, shrugged once, then turned away.

"One of _my_ best friends left me hanging once," he murmured back. "Or maybe it was the other way around." He took one last drag, crushed the cigarette against the table and threw it to the ground. "Whatever. We're no longer friends, I guess. Haven't seen him since…" A sigh. "It's funny. He kinda'…" he gave me a sidelong glance. Then shrugged again. I think he had a habit of letting his sentences trail away pointlessly or something. "That was a really long time ago. And he was a total bastard."

Woah. Major emotion overload! Damn. Well, at least now I know he ain't the bleak, impassive, unemotional kid I thought he was… Okay, no. So the kid was getting all emo on me. Better change the subject. Pronto.

"Did you know Sora's totally in love with strut- uh, his cousin?"

Roxas looked up and frowned at me with an intense, almost judgemental look. "You mean Riku, right? You gotta' mean Riku."

"You know him?"

He narrowed his eyes and looked at me as though I were stupid. "Yeah, I think you're _supposed_ to know people at family reunions," he said sardonically.

I laughed. "Sorry. Stupid question. I Forgot. You're all related. _All_ of you. 'Cept me."

He was quiet for a bit, then snorted. "Yeah, I know Ri. Never liked that asshole. But maybe it's cuz Sora keeps going on and on about him and treats him like some god to be worshiped or something. I never did get along with Riku. Hardly see him anyways, apart from at family dinners and stuff – Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, whatever." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Hmm… You and your sis twins or something?"

He gave a brief nod.

"I figured. You two look almost alike."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You implying I look like a girl?"

"No. I'm implying she looks _almost_ as hot as you do."

"… Right. Whatever."

Silence followed. Hello, that was a _compliment_, Rox! Jeez. Somehow, I doubted he was taking me seriously.

"Your brother," I said suddenly, almost randomly. Okay, so it was an epic change of topic. But I wanted him to keep _talking_.

The blond gave me a hard look. "What about him?"

"He's not… straight."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "You can tell?"

"I overheard you and Sora in the kitchen," I admitted. "Plus yeah, it's kinda obvious."

Roxas shrugged nonchalantly. "Cloud's been _trying_ to hide it. But lately, I think he's _finally_ crawling out of the closet, tail between his legs. Not that I'm really all that bothered. Cloud's a sensible guy. You should see Demyx. _That_ guy has no problem of letting the world know that one day he's gonna marry some dude he met at work named Zexy. Just who the hell names their son _Zexy_?" There was something like mirth in the kid's voice.

I tried not to smile too much at his tone.

When he looked to me somewhat gaugingly for a few moments after that, I just shrugged and looked back, his semi half-smile melted into a frown again and he muttered something under his breath. Then he just turned away and kicked at the ground.

Well.

"So, uh… does homosexuality run in the family genes or something?" I asked aloud, half-jokingly. And maybe I shouldn't have. Because after a disbelieving stare from the blond, I found myself being dragged out of my seat and shoved viciously up against one of the veranda pillars. And then he punched me in the jaw.

"Ow, Roxas! What in the _fuck_ was _that_ for?" I all but yelled as loud as I dared to.

"Ask me that again, I _dare_ you." Roxas seemed to almost snarl.

"Not if you're going to hit me again!" I growled. He was two heads shorter than me and really, I could've very well just brushed him off of me. But, hell, his grip on the collar of my shirt was surprisingly strong.

He raised his fist again threateningly. "_Again_, Axel."

"Areallofyou_gay_?" I spluttered, not really knowing what else to say. I wanted him to _not_ hit me, after all.

Roxas' ferocious glare turned into an equally ferocious smirk. "Pretty much."

And he punched me again.

Okay. In light of this new revelation, I was getting really, really frustrated with this kid. He was pretty to look at, but god_dammit_, he had one hell of a right hook.

I grabbed both his arms (in case he decided to land a third blow on my rather handsome face) and twisted them behind his back, twirling him around and pushing him against the veranda table.

"You know, you really need to learn that that's no way to go about winning someone's heart, gorgeous."

The kid hissed when I practically had him pinned face-forward against the table, his upper body totally bent over the flat surface. Yes, it was _exactly_ what it looked like.

I leant down to whisper into his ear.

"_You_, Roxy, are so totally _hot_ when you get all angry and mad. It's _reaaally_ starting to turn me on."

I think he froze for a split second. Then, he rammed his elbow into my gut. I squealed in a somewhat less-than-manly fashion (in my defence, I _had_ to stifle it! Didn't want the damn house to wake up) and let go of him, giving him enough time to twist around so he was now glaring up at me. Wow. Kid liked it rough. Never knew.

I recovered fast enough, pushed him back down and kept him there, a hand flat against his chest. This kid squirmed _way_ too much.

"Bastard," he spat, eyes like flint. But I saw a hungry flicker of _something_ somewhere in the deep blue.

"Pretty much," I replied with a grin.

And I kissed him.

I had a perfectly legitimate reason for this. Throughout the whole goddamn party, the kid had been sending me smouldering looks whenever I glanced his way. Discretely, maybe. But still, those looks were unmistakably meant for _me_ and me alone. Maybe it was because he was still pissed at me for stealing his thunder during the conversation in the kitchen. Or maybe it was something more… I dunno, _suggestive_?

Ah well. I found out it was the latter when he started to kiss back. Quite passionately too. Okay, maybe the correct term would be _violently_. But whatever. He tasted like beer and cigarette smoke and something like salt and sugar and cinnamon spices. And he was practically _eating_ the little noises I was making straight from my mouth.

Then, when he had enough of mashing our lips together, he shoved his tongue down my throat. _That_ was when I knew it was _on_. It was So. Totally. _On_.

Oh yeah, now _this_ was gonna' go somewhere.

His hands were suddenly in my hair, and goddammit, it was like he was trying to pull tufts of it out or something. But hey, who gave a fuck? My hands wandered. Found their way under Roxas' shirt somehow. And then finally, down his pants.

He bucked against my hand as I palmed him, ever so lightly at first. God, he was getting very hard very fast. Finally, after fondling him for a while more, my gentleness gave way and I found myself gripping him firmly. I could practically feel him throbbing, all that blood rushing south, and he was emitting soft whimpers and cries beneath me, begging me to keep doing what I was doing. He fisted my shirt in both hands, yanking me closer to grind his pelvis against my hand. I started pumping my fist, stroking him hard. His breath hitched at the first stroke, then exploded in rapid and uneven bursts.

In the semi-darkness, I could still make out the rosy pink tinge of his hot, flushed cheeks and the fiery lust and desire in his hooded eyes as I continued to pleasure him. And those _moans_. Fuck! His fucking moans were fucking _killing_ me.

I was very aware of the party in my pants right now. Helloooo stiffy. Ohmyfuckinggod, I was fucking aroused by this goddamn_ kid_.

I think somewhere in my mind was a vague, flashing thought; some warning, that maybe I shouldn't be doing this. It was _wrong_. He probably wasn't even anywhere near eighteen yet. And he was Sora's _cousin_, dammit! But I think those thoughts quickly dissolved into fluffy bunny-shaped clouds and multi-coloured rainbows. Shit. I wanted Roxas. I wanted to fuck him hard, to screw him into the table, to make him scream my name. So. So. So. Badly.

I pushed against him aggressively. The table jerked and screeched against the floor. Roxas snarled and suddenly he was cursing and writhing underneath me. He impulsively shoved me back a bit.

"Back," he panted, gasping wildly, eyes a little wider than normal, unfocused. "You're… going to… break my fucking _back_."

I realised he still had his feet planted on the ground so I scooted backwards a little, lifted him fully on top of the table so he was fully sprawled atop its flat surface and clambered on top of him, straddling him.

"Better?"

"Much."

Somehow, we managed to get most of our clothes off. I don't remember how or when. But fuck that. Once we'd haphazardly removed them and flung them into an untidy heap on the ground, our hands and tongues did the exploring on their own. Our brains just went out the window and flew off to Hawaii for the next few amazing minutes.

Table sex was with Roxas was one word: fucking _awesome_. Okay, fucking awesome is technically two words. Whatevs. Screw it. Roxas was _good_. For a damn high school kid, he really knew what he was doing. For a kid his age, I was surprised he even knew what _I_ was doing. Hells, I think he also gave me more than just a few bruises and cuts along my shoulder and all down my back. Blondie had sharp nails. I had to struggle not to scream. Damn, he put up one hell of a fight to dominate. But naturally, I fought back. And won. Or maybe he let me win. Either way, I topped.

Table sex at 4:29 A.M. on Sora's veranda table with Roxas was fucking awesome. Actually, it was mind-blowing. You have no idea how fucking _rewarding_ it was to hear my name being hissed, moaned, groaned and cried aloud into the night air over and over and over again. It's a miracle no one in the Leonhart house actually woke up from all the noise that was coming from their backyard veranda. Especially after we both came one after the other.

In fact, it was a miracle the table never gave way while I was pounding the kid into it. It was one big, strong-ass table. Varnished mahogany by the looks of it. It would've cost the Leonharts a fair bit of money. So, I found that quite hilarious for some reason. I would love to see their faces when they figure out what we did. Not that I was really going to go up to them and declare that I managed to do their blond relative there on the surface of the thing.

I may have mentioned it already, but… **Table sex at 4:29 A.M. with Sora's cousin, Roxas Strife, on Sora's goddamn fucking veranda table was fucking awesome. **

Yeah.

Anyways.

After, we remained there on the table like that for what seemed like an eternity, just staring up at the unadorned veranda ceiling, both sweat-drenched, sore and somewhat content in the silence.

Just when I thought Roxas had knocked out and gone off to his own personal lala land, the blond sat up (with some painful difficulty, I might add) and looked out towards the backyard lawn.

"Sun's rising," he murmured. And he was finally getting to his feet with tentative caution, stretching, cringing in some kind of pain, and reaching down slowly to pick up his discarded shirt that had landed some ways away on the floor.

I heard the chirruping of early birds and looked out towards the sky. Yep. It was getting light. Dang.

Roxas was starting to pull his clothes back on. I couldn't help but notice his wince when he tried to put his pants back on. The grimace on his face told me a few things. One, I think I got a little too physical. Maybe I shouldn't have. Two, he wouldn't be walking normally for a few days at least. Okay, now I felt kinda bad.

But, no time for regrets. Plus he kinda _did_ try to scrape the skin off my back with just his nails. Damn, I could almost feel the trails of blood drying against my skin.

I hopped off the table and back into my clothes quickly, just in case some nosy next door neighbour tried peeking through the garden fence at this hour.

Roxas was just standing there and watching me silently as I finally zipped my pants up. His icy blue eyes held something like… well, I couldn't read the indecipherable look on his face. But I was never that good at reading people's facial expressions in the first place anyway.

The silence dwelled on for a little longer. Then, scratching my head rather awkwardly (awkwardly? Even _I_ wondered…), I opened my mouth to speak. "I think I better get back to Sora's room… He, uh, he might wonder where I got to if he wakes up."

Roxas nodded mutely, looking more than just a little worn out as he leant against the table somewhat gingerly.

I tried to smile at him. I really tried. But either I was too tired to do that, or I just couldn't bring myself to. But I didn't want the guilt to start swallowing me up entirely. The kid had a part to play in this too. But his expression was just so… _expressionless_. I had no fucking clue what he was thinking.

"You should go to bed, kid," I said quietly.

And I reached down to kiss him once on the forehead. Gently.

As I turned to go back in, he grabbed my arm. Held it for a long moment. Didn't know if this was an impulsive action or whatever. His crystal blue eyes that used to be so clear were oh so hazy. He held on. That gave me enough time to see the dried, caking blood under his fingernails. My blood.

Then, he let go.

I walked back towards the door and into the house.

Maybe I shouldn't have left him on his own back there. But I needed a bed right about now.

I didn't miss the almost inaudible 'night, Ax' from the kid.

Didn't think I was able to reply either.

But I did.

"G'night, Roxas."

* * *

I woke up late, a little past 10:50 A.M. Sora, the little runt, was already up. Well, I'd only assumed that since he technically wasn't in his room, that much I was sure. I got up languidly, got changed into a pair of baggy jeans and a black singlet, trotted downstairs leisurely… and witnessed Sora and Cloud having a go at each other on the Playstation 3. They were hollering battle cries every now and then, which was odd since they weren't supposed to be telling each other to 'OHMYGAWDJUSTDIEALREADY!' in a racing game. It's not like Lamborghinis had rocket launchers strapped to their hoods or anything. Leon and Naminé were just lounging around on the other couches, both of them apathetically watching their siblings bashing the controllers in their hands. I threw a cursory 'hey guys' at them and then made for the kitchen.

"There's more mash in the fridge if you want! For breakfast!" Sora yelled over his shoulder distractedly. "OR BRUNCH OR WHATEVER. OH EM GEE! TAKE THIS, STRIFE!"

Mashed potatoes for breakfast?

Nah, think I'll pass.

I rummaged through the Leonhart pantry and grabbed a box of Fruit Loops from its depths, then finally busied myself with boiling some water. Nothing like a good cup of coffee to wake you up in the late morning. And Fruit Loops. Those little crunchy colourful pieces of _yum_ were heaven.

After the coffee and the cereal, I pulled out a bar of sea-salt from the box in the freezer. Y'know, the endowment gift for the weekend sleepover? Yeah. I don't think anyone in the Leonhart family even liked the flavour. Idiots. It'd probably all go to waste. Ah well, I decided to help them polish it off. At least one, anyways. I didn't particularly like ice cream. But I didn't mind sea-salt. Like, as in the flavour.

Then a minute later, blondie walked in, stifling a yawn.

Blondie meaning Roxas.

Roxas as in the kid whom I fucked in the early hours of… today, really.

He looked dead tired. And his hair was still all tousled and sexy and stuck up in all manner of different angles. He'd obviously just woken up as well. There were dark circles under his half-closed, glassy eyes.

He rounded the divider and finally spotted me and stopped in mid-stride to stare.

I drew the popsicle out of my mouth with a vague 'pop' and stared back.

It was one of them stare-downs I think. And the look he was giving me was so _blank_ and _unreadable_ that I had to wonder if he was plotting some way to murder me or something behind those impassive ocean-blue eyes of his. Well, goddamn those impassive ocean-blue eyes.

After something like five minutes (time seemed to fall apart when I was dealing with Roxas), the kid shifted his gaze to the half-eaten bar of ice cream in my hand.

Ever so slowly, his expression changed, and he gave me a lopsided smirk, fleetingly running a tongue over his still-swollen red lips.

"You got another one of those?"

* * *

I said before that I've hated/despised/loathed/etc family reunions.

But now, I guess I should mention that every time Sora Leonhart had one, I would come up with any form of an excuse to stay over at his place. Roxas Strife would always be there. Roxas Strife made me like family reunions. Considerably.

But – chocobos and potatoes be damned – never again did I offer to cook them dinner.

_**End**._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**__ Holy mother of flaming chocobos! Who the hell has sea-salt ice cream for breakfast? _

_Anyways, I might actually write a companion fic to this one, but from Roxas' POV instead. But we'll see._

_**EDIT:**__ Yes, I HAVE actually done the companion fic! It's called 'Lengthy Drives and Stupid People'. Go read it! :)_


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